Description

Splitpaw used to be the home of the Splitpaw clan of gnolls. Now their
tribal home has been overrun by another more powerful clan of gnolls,
intent on their own political agenda, who use the Splitpaw clan any way
that they can. Splitpaw is the site where in gnoll legend, their god set
his foot upon the earth, and the surface markings are his footprint. Nobody
knows if this is true, but hunters in Southern Karana know the three talons
rising from the ground that mark the entrance to the lair.

Dangers

This is a dungeon for middle level characters, and the difficulty of
the dungeon scales relatively slowly from the entrance to the deeper parts
of the dungeon. The front entrance has gnolls of around 25th and slightly
higher level, and as you move further in, you will encounter gnolls that
are much more powerful the deeper you move in.

The main danger in this dungeon, as in Blackburrow, is training. The
trains here are not huge Blackburrow trains, but little mini-trains where
the local gnolls decide to help out their buddies. Starting at the entrance,
almost all of the gnolls are with a partner at least, and so you have
to be able to take on two 30th level gnolls if you even want to walk in
the front door. Gnolls, like all the half-sentient evil humanoids, have
a tendency to flee. Since they have a fair number of hit points and are
really chickens, they can make it quite far while fleeing, which makes
it so that you have more gnolls joining in than you care to have. Snaring
or rooting is required in this dungeon, since having several more jump
in, or worse, start healing, when a gnoll is fleeing away could mean your
end.

There is also a problem because in certain areas you will be attacking
gnolls thinking there is nobody nearby, and some gnoll will come running
around the corner. This is a "feature" of EQ where creatures
can tell you are attacking their buddy despite walls being between you
and them. This is of special importance at the small room on the other
side of the first bridge. There are usually a few gnolls here, and are
relatively easy to take (if you've made it this far, you can take them).
The danger is that around the corner and through a gate lies two more
gnolls, who will come running if he is close enough, and are tougher.
Basically, if you hear the chains rattling, turn and run.

The other problem comes because the gnolls have a heirarchy of classes
that is shared only with Solusek's Eye in all of Norrath. Basically, they
have members from every class within their ranks, which can make for some
interesting battles. You have warriors (Tesch), which are typical monsters,
but then you have rogues (Lteth) who will backstab you if you aren't careful.
The casters (Rosch) come from all different classes and include mages,
enchanters, and necromancers, and the "healers" (Nisch) are
both clerics or shamans. Few monster races can boast such a broad range
of ways in which to kill you, and this makes strategy and tactics for
taking them on challenging.

The prison cells are dangerous if you step inside, because when the door
shuts you are without access to the lever, and you better hope someone
comes and helps you out. The main prison hall does not have this "feature"
however, so you can go through that door and escape easily.

There aren't really any other unique dangers to Splitpaw. If you know
group monster management and how not to train, then you can get by well.
The only other problem with the zone is that it's a long walk from Qeynos
or Highhold Pass. If you can get bound in Arena, that would help.

Benefits

Splitpaw dungeon is, still, one of the least busy dungeon zones in the
game. This means that you can make good experience and money, as well
as some unique treasure, without having to worry about stepping on anyone's
toes while hunting there. This is, in my opinion, it's main benefit.

The other main benefit in the dungeon is that the rare spawns are split
off into their own little areas which you can hunt while not being worried
about wandering gnolls. There are very few areas where there are wanderers,
and they are only one at most, so you can easily learn their routine and
account for them. Also, some of the best monsters to hunt are located
near the "front" of the dungeon, and people can drop down from
the front bridge to the level below and access them. Getting out isn't
quite as easy, however...

Travelling To and From
Splitpaw

There is only one way to get to Splitpaw, and that is by entering Southern
Plains of Karana and travelling to the center. When you see the three
bloody claws sticking up from the earth, pass in between them. In what
would be the center of the paw, there is a small dark hole facing the
claws that is the entrance to Splitpaw. This is easy to miss if you've
never seen in before (and the first time I mapped Southern Karana in the
beta, I walked over this and never saw it), so keep your eyes peeled,
it's there somewhere.